salinac

I know there is always an argument on what type of food to feed your dog....I was curious what types you all feed.
I am aware they can develop ear problems and infections, with proper care this shouldnt happen, but I am also aware that food can have a great deal to do with those type of things as well.

I have bought Nutro, Natural Choice Puppy Lamb Meal and Rice.

Used to feed the Mastiffs Eagle Pack, which I really liked...but its hard to get ahold of around here.

Any help here would be good....

murraysmom

http://www.heatherweb.com/cyberhound/board...=62&hl=food

Here is a link to an earlier discussion about food- I went to the 'Search- option on the upper right of the page, and typed in 'food'- this is one link that seems promising-

One thing I will add is that Murray gets some canned pumpkin and bran with his kibble at each meal- this helps with his anal gland problems.A big carrot now and then adds more fiber,and he also gets a glob of Dannon plain yogurt with each meal to help with his yeast problems. And usually some salmon or tuna for a natural protein source (he's allergic to beef and chicken- his kibble is Wellness Fish and Sweet Potato).

Hope this helps-

jonloanranger

I make Baxter's food. It has been so much better for him! I call it his goulash. It is a crock pot with fresh chicken, sweet potatoes, split peas, rice, organic carrots & green beans. It works the best for us. Good Luck!

Rubydoo

Baxter's food sounds like what I made for Ruby's daddy and I recently.

Ruby eats Eukanuba FP (fish and potato)

Janice

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BubbaLeroy

We feed Bogie "Nutro Natural Choice Lamb and Rice for adult dogs". The vet noticed his beautiful coat the last time we were in and said that whatever you are feeding him is working for him. He gets 2 and 1/2 cups a day, one morning, one at evening, and 1/2 right before bed around 10 PM. He was getting us up at 4 AM and throwing up yellow bile, when got him as a 10 month old, and the 1/2 cup tides him over to 7 AM now with no vomitng. The vet said some Bassets especially, do that on empty tummies. Bogie weighs 48 pounds, and the vet said he was in great shape. He is a year and a half old.

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salinac

Well I was trying to stay away from corn and wheat...and this one seemed to do that....I am happy that it is working for you...i already have a bag of it...so we will see how he does, if its not working then I will switch to something else.

Also...what does everyone use for the ear cleaning solution??

BubbaLeroy

On ear cleaning, we do Bogie's ears twice a week using "VET Ear Cleansing Solution" that we get from the vet. We use a marked eye dropper and drop about a quarter of the eye dropper full of solution in each ear. Hold ears straight up and massage. You can hear it squishing, and then we take a round cotton facial wipe and wipe out the ear canal as far as my wrapped finger can reach. Cotton balls tended to leave behind fuzz and the facial wipes we use do not. Bogie had some of the brownish gunk in his ears when we first got him as a 10 month old. Now they are clean, and the vet was impessed on our last check up.

__________________
You don't own a Basset, a Basset owns you!!
Aroooooos from Bogie !! - Trumbull's Who's Teasin Bogart CGC- Born April 21, 2005
ATB: Bubba - (Trumbull's Surley It's Stormin Norman) Sept. 8, 1998 - Dec. 20, 2005

salinac

Great...thanks...I will check with my vet and see what he has available.

Mikey T

Why? Fwiw corn and wheat are not any more allergenic than any other carbohydrate source. In fact in most food allergies it is protein that is the source of the allergery. In animals prone to food allergies the food they will become allergic too is that which they are exposed to the most is what they become allergic too. Hence beef, chicken, corn and wheat lead the way in food allergies of dogs because it is what is in most dog food. However if you were to feed a dog prone to allergies on Fish and potato it would develop an allergy to fish and potato not chicken and corn. The problem is not with a particular ingredient of food stuff but with the allergy prone dog itself. Trying to avoid a particular food to avoid allergies is a strategy doomed to failure.

There are food that do use too much grain/carbohydrate as a caloric source and a poor source of protein. It is not the fact that use corn or wheat in the product that makes it a poor choice but rather the guanity of corn and grain. But this can occur regardless of the protein source or charbohydrate source. A fish and potato food that is too dependant on potatos for calories is not as good as a chicken and corn based product that is weighted much more toward the chicken.

IMHO the things it look for in a food are 1. A High protein and fat content . 25% min on protein better if over 30%, 10% min on fat unless a caloric restricted diet to reduce weight. (note. many Light food are lite because of add fillers so in the end reduced nutrition, in a reduce calorie formual you still want high protein content which there are only a few commercially available.)

2. High protein high fat diets are high in calories you need to feed less and keep the dog active. Those to things are important for long term health.

3. If you do research on high protein diet will find a handfull of small studies that link high protein with some behavioral problems like aggression. This only ocurred when high protein diets were fed to inactive dogs, hence the recommendation to keep the dog active. In active dogs high protien has been shown as necessary to maintain health especial muscle, tendon and ligament repair.

For readily available commerical foods I have on a sometime rotating base use Eukanuba Premium Performance (regular and large breed) natural choice high energy, and royal canin eneryy 4800. For a restricted calorie diet to lose weight or prevent weight gain in a low activity dog, I really like Royal Canin light 27 with 27% protein to help retain muscle mass and still low calories. amazingly the bag promenently features a basset hound on the front

salinac

PERFECT...this was just the type of answer I was looking for...thank you for the information!